Scottish Executive

Access for Disabled People

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will complete its research into the recommendations made by the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee in its report, Review of the Disabled Persons Parking Scheme (The Blue Badge Scheme) - Recommendations for change .

Nicol Stephen: Research into the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DTP) is on-going and the Scottish Executive is working closely with the Department of Transport to define and take forward these areas of research. Meanwhile, the Scottish Executive has already introduced legislation under section 73 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 to give power to police, traffic wardens and parking attendants to inspect blue badges. This will be brought into force early in 2004 following the issue of guidance to local authorities and blue badge holders.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its proposals are to curb neighbourhood noise.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive believes there is a need to tackle the issue of neighbourhood noise. In that light, the Executive intends to issue a formal consultation before the 2003 summer recess on its proposed Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, which will include proposals to curb neighbourhood noise.

Central Heating Programme

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many senior citizens have applied under its central heating installation programme since the programme’s inception; how many senior citizens have had central heating installed under the programme, and how many of these have had to pay for all, or part, of the installation.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Since the programme began, 21,188 households have applied for central heating. Fifteen thousand, two hundred and forty-five of these applications have been found to be eligible and of these 10,321 households had central heating installed by 31 May 2003. This information is available and regularly updated on Eaga’s website at www.eaga.co.uk.

  Central heating, insulation, the benefits check and energy advice are offered free in every case. Applicants may enter into a separate agreement with the contractor who is undertaking the work that he or she will install additional radiators, a larger boiler, or undertake work not covered by the programme such as covering pipes. Eaga do not collect information about such agreements. Twenty-eight applicants have paid for an electric upgrade or gas connection to enable them to access the programme.

Civil Contingencies Bill

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to the draft Civil Contingencies Bill.

Cathy Jamieson: As part of a UK-wide consultation process, the Scottish Executive is today publishing for comment the draft Civil Contingencies Bill on the Scottish Executive website and placing it in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 28011). It is being made widely available and we would encourage all those individuals and organisations with an interest to respond.

Coast Protection

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will begin consulting on a strategy to protect and enhance the coastline, including the establishment of a national coastline park, marine national parks and the management and rental arrangements for the sea-bed, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Allan Wilson: We are committed to implementing the EU Recommendation on integrated Coastal Zone Management. As a first stage we are undertaking an audit, or stocktake, of the current management arrangements for the coast. This is expected to be completed by March of next year and will inform the development of a strategy to protect and enhance the coastline. The strategy will be drafted over the following months in consultation with stakeholders, and then will be subject to full public consultation.

Customs and Excise

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports procurators fiscal received from HM Customs and Excise in 2002-03 and, of these, how many (a) were marked "no proceedings" on account of delay on the part of HM Customs and Excise and (b) proceeded to trial

Mrs Elish Angiolini: During the financial year April 2002 to March 2003 HM Customs and Excise submitted 22 reports to procurators fiscal.

  (a) None of these cases were marked "no proceedings" on account of delay on the part of HM Customs and Excise, and

  (b) nine cases proceeded to court, all of which resulted in a conviction. One case proceeded to a full trial and the remaining eight were dealt with by way of a guilty plea. Twelve cases are currently pending before the courts but proceedings have not yet concluded. One case was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal for an opinion only, and proceedings were not considered.

Environment

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take following the publication of the Scottish European Pollutant Register by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Allan Wilson: The industrial sites included in the pollution emissions register recently published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) are already tightly regulated by SEPA. All sites are regulated under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000 and the requirements of that regime mean that installations will have demonstrated, or will need to demonstrate, that they are using the best available techniques to prevent or minimise pollution.

  The Scottish Executive will encourage SEPA to develop the pollution emission register as quickly as practicable and in particular to improve the online search facilities and expand the scope of the information included. Improving public access to environmental information will highlight the progress of measures being taken to reduce industrial pollution in Scotland. The answer given to question S1W-33969 on 13 February 2003 sets out how SEPA plans to develop its online register. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many public bodies have had members' codes of conduct approved under the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.

Mr Andy Kerr: One hundred and twenty-nine public bodies have had codes of conduct approved under the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, out of a total of 131 covered by the act at present.

  Two bodies have yet to have codes approved. There are a number of outstanding issues surrounding the production of codes for the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Parole Board for Scotland. These issues are being taken forward by the Executive in consultation with the individual bodies.

Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which public bodies did not have members' codes of conducts approved by ministers by 1 May 2003, as required by the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Board of Management of Aberdeen College, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Parole Board for Scotland did not have codes approved at 1 May 2003.

  A code has now been approved for the Board of Management of Aberdeen College.

  There are a number of outstanding issues surrounding the production of codes for the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Parole Board. These are being taken forward by the Executive in consultation with the individual bodies.

Forestry

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why grants for establishing willow coppices in Scotland are lower than the equivalent grants in England.

Allan Wilson: The level of grant available in Scotland for short-rotation coppice (SRC) in the new Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme (SFGS) is £600 per hectare, but on land set aside as part of the Arable Area Payment Scheme, the SFGS grant is £400 per hectare.

  Within the Arable Area Payment Scheme, payments for set aside land can include the production of SRC. The currently payment levels are £205.80 per hectare for Less Favoured Areas and £223.97 per hectare for Non Less Favoured Areas.

  The Forestry Commission grant level for SRC in England is identical to Scotland. However, in England there is also a scheme called the Energy Crop Scheme (ECS) which offers £1,600 per hectare for SRC on ex-livestock land and £1,000 per hectare on all other land types. This scheme is operated by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and is part of the wider England Rural Development Programme.

Forestry

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the level of grants available for establishing willow coppices.

Allan Wilson: Grants for short rotation coppicing are contained within the Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme, which was launched in February 2003 and supports priorities contained in the Scottish Forestry Strategy. The scheme was developed in association with a wide stakeholder group which felt that, while energy crops and wood fuel were potential areas for future development, in view of the many competing priorities for the forestry grant budget, the short rotation coppice grant rates should not increase.

  Payments for set aside land, which can include production of short rotation coppice, are also contained within the Arable Area Payment Scheme. There are no changes to the rules covering this scheme this year.

Forestry

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken to increase the acreage of willow coppice.

Allan Wilson: Encouragement to undertake short rotation coppicing (SRC) is available under the Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme. In addition, payments for set aside land, which can include production of SRC, are also contained within the Arable Area Payment Scheme.

Health

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set up a national hospital beds inquiry.

Malcolm Chisholm: We will continue to keep the provision of services under review.

Health

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is being allocated to the Scottish Infection Standards and Strategy Group.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland develops Standards for NHSScotland and is funded accordingly.

  The Scottish Infection Standards and Strategy Group (SISS) is a professional group which we have funded for one specific task - clinical guidance on the diagnosis and management of E.coli 0157.

Higher Education

Mr Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to widen access to higher education.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive's A Framework for Higher Education in Scotland makes clear our commitment to widening access to higher education in Scotland, as part of our broader commitment to promoting lifelong learning. In 2003-04 the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council is allocating over £11 million for a variety of initiatives designed to widen access and £2 million to support the development of links between further and higher education and encourage articulation between the sectors. This is alongside reforms to student support made during the last Parliament, and our plans to roll-out Educational Maintenance Allowances nationwide, to encourage young people from low income backgrounds to stay in education.

Hospitals

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Fife NHS Board about the future of Stratheden Hospital, Cupar.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has had no recent discussions with Fife NHS Board on the future of Stratheden Hospital.

Income

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the average weekly wage in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Office for National Statistics publishes data from the New Earnings Survey on an annual basis. The survey takes place in April each year. The following table provides gross weekly earnings of full-time adults for local authorities in Scotland.

  Average Gross Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Employees in Local Authority Areas

  


Classification: Public Domain (£) 
  



Local Authority 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  

2002 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

438.4 
  

423.2 
  

445.4 
  

476.8 
  

504.5 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

350.2 
  

342.9 
  

371.2 
  

370.1 
  

414.1 
  



Angus 
  

.. 
  

332.5 
  

342.1 
  

356.4 
  

380.6 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

327.1 
  

353.0 
  

378.8 
  

390.5 
  

390.3 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

312.7 
  

335.4 
  

330.4 
  

369.3 
  

386.7 
  



Dundee City 
  

336.7 
  

354.2 
  

362.2 
  

391.6 
  

411.4 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

324.4 
  

328.6 
  

365.1 
  

375.3 
  

.. 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

364.7 
  

.. 
  



East Lothian 
  

301.6 
  

338.7 
  

361.9 
  

373.0 
  

399.6 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

371.2 
  

396.1 
  

404.6 
  

445.1 
  

480.6 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  



Falkirk 
  

337.1 
  

358.0 
  

379.2 
  

384.0 
  

391.7 
  



Fife 
  

336.2 
  

337.6 
  

344.8 
  

367.0 
  

390.1 
  



Glasgow City 
  

357.4 
  

373.1 
  

391.8 
  

418.8 
  

421.4 
  



Highland 
  

318.9 
  

335.9 
  

351.7 
  

374.5 
  

411.8 
  



Inverclyde
Midlothian 
  

333.7 
  

349.5 
  

356.9 
  

352.8 
  

354.7 
  



.. 
  

360.2 
  

375.6 
  

378.9 
  

397.5 
  



Moray 
  

299.2 
  

324.9 
  

.. 
  

327.8 
  

346.1 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

337.3 
  

354.8 
  

346.7 
  

395.0 
  

372.8 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

342.5 
  

343.7 
  

373.1 
  

393.0 
  

413.2 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

323.6 
  

325.4 
  

332.8 
  

354.9 
  

369.4 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

343.1 
  

373.1 
  

396.3 
  

412.5 
  

447.7 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

304.4 
  

315.7 
  

326.3 
  

345.2 
  

346.2 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

343.1 
  

387.0 
  

386.2 
  

400.6 
  

421.1 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

325.6 
  

365.6 
  

385.4 
  

412.5 
  

434.2 
  



Stirling 
  

343.5 
  

332.8 
  

337.5 
  

414.6 
  

.. 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

.. 
  

355.6 
  

376.5 
  



West Lothian 
  

341.2 
  

354.6 
  

384.0 
  

404.1 
  

430.1

Justice

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases not proceeded with by procurators fiscal in 2002-03 were in respect of (a) non-endorsable road traffic offences, (b) road traffic offences endorsable and subject to disqualification under "totting up", (c) disqualifiable motoring offences, (d) offences against property, (e) offences against the person and (f) offences involving the misuse of drugs.

Colin Boyd QC: The information sought can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Current Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service information systems are designed to support core operations of the department and track the progress of cases and it is not possible to extract the information sought from these systems.

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the statement by Mr Colin Laverty in the April 2003 edition of the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland that, in a recent trial at Coatbridge District Court of a person charged with assault, the Procurator Fiscal failed to view videotape evidence before deciding in what court to try the case and before deciding to accept a guilty plea to a reduced charge

Mrs Elish Angiolini: Procurators fiscal make decisions on proceedings on the basis of reports received from the police, which contain a summary of the evidence including the contents of any video evidence. It will not always be practicable to view a video prior to taking a decision to prosecute, although it would be open to the procurator fiscal to do so in the event that the report suggested that it would be useful to do so. In this case the police report contained an accurate description of the contents of the video, although the depute in court accepted pleas without viewing the tape. Procurators fiscal have been reminded that it is best practice to view video evidence before negotiating pleas.

Justice

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-113 by Mrs Elish Angiolini on 2 June 2003, whether it will provide a breakdown by type of offence of reports to procurators fiscal marked "no proceedings" for reason of (a) time-bar, (b) delay by police/other agency, (c) lack of court resources, (d) procurator fiscal staff shortages and (e) delay by procurator fiscal, broken down by sheriff court district.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: The information sought can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Current Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service information systems are designed to support core operations of the department and track the progress of cases and it is not possible to extract the information sought from these systems.

Justice

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-113 by Mrs Elish Angiolini on 2 June 2003, whether it will give a breakdown by type of offence of reports to procurators fiscal that were marked "no proceedings" for reasons of (a) time-bar, (b) delay by police/other agency, (c) lack of court resources, (d) procurator fiscal staff shortages and (e) delay by procurator fiscal in 2002-03, broken down by sheriff court district.

Mrs Elish Angiolini: The information sought can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Current Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service information systems are designed to support core operations of the department and track the progress of cases and it is not possible to extract the information sought from these systems.

Justice

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) justices of the peace, (b) sheriffs and (c) judges there are and, of these, what the ratio of men to women is.

Cathy Jamieson: The information is contained in the following table:

  


Name of Office 
  

Total 
  

Men 
  

Women 
  

Women as % of Total 
  



Justice of the Peace 
  

3,752 
  

2,688 
  

1,064 
  

28% 
  



Permanent Sheriff 
  

131 
  

109 
  

22 
  

17% 
  



Judge of the Court of Session 
  

32 
  

29 
  

3 
  

9%

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its consultation paper on reform of the High Court of Justiciary.

Cathy Jamieson: I am pleased to announce that I am today publishing a white paper setting out wide-ranging proposals for the reform of the High Court of Justiciary. This follows up the review of practices and procedure in the High Court which we asked Lord Bonomy to carry out, and on which he reported to the Executive in December 2002. It represents the next step in our strategy for the systematic modernisation of justice in Scotland.

  Lord Bonomy made a number of very practical suggestions for a more efficient High Court which better serves the interests of justice. He identified the culture of delays and adjournments as particularly unhelpful to victims, witnesses and jurors, and sought to ensure greater certainty about how and when cases would proceed, and greater sensitivity in how they were handled.

  We have consulted extensively on Lord Bonomy's proposals, and the white paper published today draws heavily on them. It will pave the way for a bill to be introduced in the autumn for reform of the High Court. This will be complemented by wider changes to the organisation and support of the High Court to deliver more effective handling of the most serious crime.

  Over the next few days we will circulate copies of the white paper to a wide range of stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including all those who commented on Lord Bonomy’s report.

Licensing

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review licensing fees for licensed premises.

Hugh Henry: Following the standing arrangement with COSLA to review liquor licensing fees every three years, it is our intention to begin the next such review in the autumn.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to ensure that people with a mental illness can access appropriate transport through transport access schemes.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive awarded ENABLE £50,000 to assist in the establishment of the Thistle Travel Card Scheme. The scheme is making a significant difference to the lives of many thousands of people who have difficulty using public transport and are prevented from enjoying a full, active and independent life in their community.

NHS Services

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take, or direct be taken, to ensure equity of access to DEXA scanning throughout all NHS board areas, in light of the publication of Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guideline 71, Management of osteoporosis .

Malcolm Chisholm: SIGN guideline 71 makes clear that NHS trusts are responsible for implementing such guidelines as part of their general clinical governance responsibilities. It also makes clear that SIGN guidelines are not intended to serve as standards of medical care.

  It is therefore for NHS bodies to assess how to apply the components of the guideline, including those relating to DEXA scanning services, to meet the needs of patients in the areas they serve. All NHS board areas in Scotland currently provide access to DEXA scanning either in local hospitals or through referral to other board areas.

Piers and Harbours

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds it has allocated for 2003-04 to support Highland Council’s responsibilities for piers and harbours.

Nicol Stephen: We currently plan to provide Piers and Harbours Grants to the Highland Council totalling £2.114 million in 2003-04 towards pier developments on Eigg, Muck and Rum.

Planning

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what options there are for people opposed to the erection of mobile telephone masts when such masts have received planning permission from the relevant local authority, in particular in the case of residents opposed to the siting of such masts in Commercial Road, Leven.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Planning authorities have powers to withdraw planning permission. However, where they themselves have only recently granted the permission, they are unlikely to believe they have grounds for removing it. Residents with continuing concerns may approach the operator to request that the mast be relocated or, where there are grounds to suggest that there were irregularities in the decision to grant permission, it would also be open for them to seek a judicial review.

  At present no mechanism is available for third parties to appeal to the Scottish ministers against a decision on a planning application. However, on 28 March 2003 the Executive launched the white paper Your Place Your Plan containing measures for strengthening and enhancing public involvement in the planning system. In the paper, we announced an intention to issue a consultation paper on the subject of third party rights of appeal against planning decisions. This commitment to consult has been reiterated in our Partnership Agreement. An announcement about the consultation will be made shortly.

Planning

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how successful the new system is of planning regulations on the location of mobile telephone masts.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Research commissioned by the Executive is currently under way to evaluate the effect that the legislation, introduced in July 2001, has had on the roll-out of telecommunications infrastructure in Scotland. A report will be published in due course.

Public Sector Pay

Mr Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s proposals on regional pay bargaining for public sector workers will have on recruitment, retention and payroll budgets.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive expects all public sector bodies to manage their resources, including pay costs, within the three-year spending limits agreed in the course of Spending Review 2002.

  Responsibility for public sector pay is a devolved matter. The Scottish Executive will continue to monitor closely developments on pay in other parts of the UK and decide what, if any, measures on regional pay flexibility are necessary for Scottish interests.

Public Transport

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what strategic planning is taking place on co-ordinating public transport access to hospitals.

Nicol Stephen: This is primarily a matter for the National Health Service, along with local authorities and local public transport operators. The Scottish Executive expects NHS boards and local authorities in Scotland to take account of national frameworks on green transport, planning considerations etc in deciding on the site of hospitals and planning public transport access to them.

Public Transport

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities offer a taxicard alternative to their senior citizen bus pass.

Nicol Stephen: The following local authorities offer a taxicard alternative to their senior citizen concessionary bus pass:

  Aberdeen City

  Aberdeenshire

  Angus

  Clackmannanshire

  Dumfries and Galloway

  Dundee

  East Lothian

  Edinburgh

  Fife

  Falkirk

  Midlothian

  Moray

  Stirling

  West Lothian.

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when funding for phase 2 of the Ferrytoll park and ride scheme will become available.

Nicol Stephen: Grant assistance of £8.075 million has been awarded to Fife Council for capital costs incurred in increasing capacity at Ferrytoll, as set out in South East Scotland Transport Partnership’s (SESTRAN) bid in August 2002 to the Scottish Executive’s Public Transport Fund. The funding is available over a period of three years from 2003-04.

Rail Network

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Strategic Rail Authority and ScotRail about the future of rural railways.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with both the Strategic Rail Authority and ScotRail on a wide range of issues, including the future of rural railways.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on capacity and usage of railway lines between Edinburgh and (a) Aberdeen and (b) Inverness.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what contact the Scottish Community Renewable Initiative has had with the local community in the Gairloch area about the proposed Shieldaig hydroelectric generation scheme.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Community Renewable Initiative advises on community and householder renewable installations, and has no locus in relation to proposed commercial ventures such as Shieldaig.

Renewable Energy

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many objections to the proposed Shieldaig hydroelectric generation scheme have been received and from whom.

Lewis Macdonald: The public consultation period ended on 6 June 2003 and the Scottish Executive received 837 objections to the proposal. They have been split into six location categories:

  


No Address 
  

30 
  



E-Mails 
  

117 
  



Highland Council Area 
  

142 
  



Rest of Scotland 
  

241 
  



Rest of UK 
  

299 
  



Overseas 
  

8 
  



  Included in the total are the following Non Government Organisations:

  


Inchree Holiday Centre 
  



Mountain Skills Limited 
  



Bespoke Highland Tours 
  



Ardoch Guides 
  



Inverness Mountaineering Club 
  



The Climbers’ Club 
  



British Mountaineering Council 
  



The National Trust for Scotland 
  



Wild Exposure Guided Walks and Team Development 
  



Martin Moran Mountaineering 
  



Sierra Club (Canada) 
  



The John Muir Trust 
  



Scottish Countryside Activities Council 
  



The Ramblers’ Association 
  



The Scottish Wild Land Group 
  



The Scottish National Anglers Association 
  



Torridon and Kinlochewe Community Council 
  



Wester Ross Fisheries Trust 
  



The Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board

Roads

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent operating companies have met, or not met, the agreed standards for cleanliness of motorways, broken down by company and area.

Nicol Stephen: The performance of the operating companies is monitored by the Performance Audit Group (PAG) who report that, overall, Amey Highways and BEAR Scotland have generally met the standards of cleanliness for motorways required by the Environmental Protection Act and the associated Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse .

  There have, however, been some areas in the south-east, south-west and north-east units which were not treated by Amey Highways or BEAR Scotland in accordance with the code of practice, namely the M876 in the south-east unit area, the M8, M74 and M73 motorways in and around Glasgow in the south-west unit area and the M90 in the north-east unit area. The specific problem areas on these routes were brought to the operating companies’ attention and appropriate action was taken. The PAG will continue to monitor the situation.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the results are of its investigation into the impact on local authorities of disaggregation of the trunk road maintenance contracts.

Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25119 on 30 April 2002, further to which my officials are continuing to meet with the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation Scotland (SCOTS) quarterly. SCOTS has not given any indication that the trunk road maintenance contracts are having an on-going effect on the ability of direct labour organisations to undertake their business for the local authorities. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Scottish Executive Staff

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants are employed in each of its departments.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information on permanent staffing (full-time equivalents) as at 1 April 2003 is provided in the following table. The recent transfer of staff and responsibilities of Transport Group from Development Department to Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department is not yet reflected in the figures provided.

  Staffing (Full-Time Equivalents) in the Scottish Executive Departments as at 1 April 2003

  


Scottish Executive Core Departments Total 
  

 4,332.6 
  



 Corporate Services 
  

 811.5 
  



 Development 
  

 486.0 
  



 Education 
  

 268.5 
  



 Enterprise and Lifelong Learning 
  

 340.8 
  



 Environment and Rural Affairs 
  

 1,086.1 
  



 Finance and Central Services 
  

 556.1 
  



 Health 
  

 382.9 
  



 Justice 
  

 227.2 
  



 Legal and Parliamentary Services 
  

 173.5

Scottish Water

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many miles of Scottish Water drinking water pipes are in need of replacement or repair and when this work will be completed.

Ross Finnie: Information about the conditions of assets and the scheduling of repair work is an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Based on Scottish Water’s assessment of their assets as of June 2002, it is estimated that 62% of the length of the water pipe network is in need of replacement or repair. The 2003 review is currently being carried out and more updated information will be available later this year. Between 2002 and 2006, Scottish Water is replacing in excess of 3,000 kilometres of water mains.

Scottish Water

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many gallons of water per annum are estimated to be lost through leakage as a result of Scottish Water drinking water pipes not being in a satisfactory state of repair.

Ross Finnie: This is an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked Jon Hargreaves, Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:

  Scottish Water is currently implementing a programme to develop a better understanding of the impact and scale of leakage on the water network, but based on our assessment in June 2002 it is estimated that the leakage rate is about 80,000 million gallons per annum.

Telecommunications

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any reports of ill health affecting any police or emergency service personnel using terrestrial trunked radio communications equipment.

Cathy Jamieson: I understand that there is an on-going legal action by three members of Lancashire Constabulary against their Chief Constable over alleged hearing damage caused by "spiking" (a phenomenon where the equipment emits a very loud blast of sound). I am not, however, aware of any other reports where ill health affecting police or emergency service personnel has been correctly linked to the use of terrestrial trunked radio communications equipment.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that the Outdoors Access Code continues to protect rare species of wildlife protected under related acts, in particular the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Allan Wilson: Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes rights of responsible access to land and inland water. Those exercising access rights will be required to comply with legislation providing for the protection and conservation of wildlife. In addition, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code will provide guidance on the responsible exercise of access rights in respect of the protection of the natural heritage.

  The code, a draft of which is currently the subject of consultation by Scottish Natural Heritage, requires the approval of ministers and the Parliament.